Phase Two: The Chuunin Exam!
by MonroeFishel
Summary: It's great to be back baby! the first part of the chuunin exam goes off without a hitch, and now it's onto the second part: The Forest of Death! Many scenarios can come about, but what will happen? Who will pass? Fail? DIE? Part 2 Begins ... NOW!
1. Chapter 1

The Forest of Death was the beginning of the end for most genin teams. No matter how promising the prospects looked, this place was the true test of teamwork, and most of all survival.

"The first test of knowledge hasn't taken out the usual number of people. Geez, those guys are softening up," Anko said. "But no worries. This is the true place where your preparations and training matter. You have the scroll with you. The only way to pass this exam is to have both the Heaven and Hell scrolls, and get to the tower in the middle of the Forest. It's that simple."

She gave a laugh before the gate opened. Various beastial sounds poured out, almost daring the genin to enter. This was it. Some teams gulped. Other licked their chops, already planning their strategies.

Whatever the feeling, the Forest was waiting.

- - -

Michiya opened the map, quickly running forward. Their plan wasn't very simple, and it involved them waiting until the final day to make a move for a scroll.

"Taiki-sensei says that the layout of the forest shouldn't have changed that much. We can lay low in a secluded area nearby a waterfall. We only attack if we are sure a weakened team is nearby. No matter what, one of us must make sure that we have the scroll." Takumi said. The three leapt off the beaten path, hoping the plan went without a hitch.

Of course, all three knew there was a good chance it wouldn't.

- - -

Minako and Ichiro looked to Kasumi for knowledge this time around. Ichiro even overheard Kichiro saying that having a Nara with you on a mission was like having a security blanket. Both genin knew if they listened to the deer clan member, there was a good chance that the mission would be completed without much effort. Kasumi walked forward, almost deliberately slowly. As nervous as Ichiro and Minako were, they knew the best chance for survival lay with Kasumi.

"Here's the plan right now. Most teams usually don't strike immediately, which is good for us. We get to the middle of the forest, then lay a few traps around us. If that doesn't send anyone our way … then we use the Formation." She said.

"Gotcha," "Ichiro said. Minako mewed as they stepped cautiously further into the forest.

- - -

"Brother has done a little scouting while he was away, and our best bet is Kaito-san's team of genin. Two very young genin, and their oldest member can't use ninjutsu or genjutsu," Goro said. "Usagi, once we locate them, go for the overgrown girl. Rokuro, go for the little boy. I will get Asuka. I know her weakness."

- - -

This wasn't a new situation for Asuka. She was inside the forest for a second time. Her first team didn't fare so well. She glanced at both Saraidenn and Takeh, who did their best to look brave as they traversed deeper into the forest. She knew that going by appearances, they would be the prime team for the picking.

She couldn't let that happen.

"_Ginmoto, Shriyuka, we're headed this way!" a fourteen year-old Asuka said. Her companions were both focused as they followed their leader. Asuka wasn't a well-known genin, but her athletic prowess at an early age impressed everyone. Even though her knowledge of jutsu's was non-existent, most thought her athleticism was enough to carry her and her team through the Forest and into the one-on-one showdowns. _

_Ginmoto Araynaku was a master of deception, and it showed. He loved to use genjutsu to lure people into traps. He was one of the best at forcing people into lose-lose situations. His help would make this mission in the forest a piece of cake. He wore a purple and yellow shirt with white pants and yellow shows. His forehead protector lay around his shin. He had brown spiky hair with green eyes which shifted every few minutes. He was always thinking. _

_Shriyuka Areyun was perhaps the fastest genin – ever. Even Asuka had trouble keeping up with her during training. She wore a blue robe with a gold ribbon around her waist. She had pink hair with grey eyes and three green lines under her eyes. She not only had speed but a vast knowledge of ninjutsu's. There weren't many situations where she didn't have a jutsu to use. _

_Thr trio was known as the "Dream Team" of Konoha, and there was talk of the future Hokage coming from this group. There was no way they could possibly run into trouble in this fore – _

"Asuka, where do we go next?" Sarai asked, two pairs of eyes looking longingly into hers. She wasn't sure if they'd even heard of her being in the exam before, but right now, that didn't matter.

"We keep going, until someone comes for us. Believe me, we're gonna be a popular team. Takeh, get your Hail Mary ready," Asuka responded, starting jog deeper into the forest.

- - -

Kyo and Kentu walked ahead of Natsumi, as she held two kunai at the ready. Yoshi's only piece of advice was to not let emotions get in the way. What it actually meant was this: stay away from Miharu's genin. Especially Natsumi, who was off of speaking terms with Ayumi.

Natsumi's ears perked at the sound of rustling leaves, and instantly rhe trio faced in three different directions, back to back to back. All was quiet, until the ground beneath them began to shake, and cave in. The trio leapt forward, unaware of where exactly the sound was coming from.

"NOW!" a feminine voice shouted. A blur flashed in mid-air taking out Kyo. Kentu and Natsumi both ran to their partners aid. It seems he had been hit fairly quickly.

"Kyo! Are you OK?" Natsumi cried. Kento quickly pushed her back, then lifted his foot to stomp on Kyo's neck.

"I know better," he said. With a ground-shaking stomp, Kyo rolled over, then laughed.

"Very smart. But, if you want him back, you'll have to give me the scroll to me," Kyo said. Kento spat at the obvious clone.

"At who, exactly?" he asked.

Kyo laughed again, then transformed. A short, lanky young man with a white hat and green glasses stared back. He had white sleeves and a green tank top with white pants. His forehead protector shined a bit, and had three slanted stripes on it, the symbol for the Hidden Village of Grass.

"Inoue Muren at your service," he said. "And I'll be wanting that scroll, and I know you want to have your partner back, especially if you want to pass."

"We don't need him," Kento said. Natsumi quickly rushed to Kento.

"What?" she said. "We really DO need – "

"Shut up," Kento said. "If we keep showing weakness, they'll do whatever they want. It's time for us to use some force, even if it means putting Kyo at further risk."

Natsumi gave him a nod, then twirled her kunai.

"Hummingbird," she said, running at Inoue. He looked to his right to see a rapidly approaching Natsumi, who seemed to be moving fast – but slow. He tried his best to move, but for some reason, it seemed _he_ was moving in slow-motion. Natsumi moved behind Inoue, then kicked him forward. He was still unable to even move at a normal speed.

"Not so cocky now, huh? Hummingbird allows the user to move faster, but without disappearing. It may not sound flashy, but as you can see, it can become very humiliating," said Kento, prearing to kick. "And painful."

With a powerful lift, Kento kicked Inoue high into the air. Natsumi looked up, then leapt, the effects of Hummingbird still intact.

"Heaven's Arrow," she said, catching him, then placing her palm upon his midsection as he began his descent. The genin of Konoha, while young in age, were giving him more than he bargained for. Slowly, but surely, the speed with which they fell began to increase.

… back to normal speed, Inoue thought. He could feel his body regaining control. A hard landing at this rate would mean him being out of commission, and the plan falling apart – both too early. With a renewed effort, he looked into the focused eyes of Natsumi, then smiled.

"Cute move, kid. But I gotta go," he said. "See ya."

Within a second, Inoue rolled in mid-air, rising high, then vanishing. Natsumi knew there wasn't much left except to make contact with the ground. Kento quickly came to her aid, leaping high, then catching her.

"Bastard…" he said. "Got away. We definitely need Kyo, for more than one reason."

- - -

Kyo was seated at the base of a tree – quite comfortably for a hostage.

"To bad Milly had to take you out," said a high-pitched voice. "You're kind of cute."

A small figure knelt beside Kyo. She wore a white jumpsuit with a green jacket. She had short yellow hair and smiling hazel eyes. Her protector bore the image of three slanted stripes, and her green shoes had the image as well.

"Hi, I'm Ally," she said, pressing her white gloves together. Over there is Milly. She doesn't talk much."

Milly was a tall girl with shoulder length black and brown hair. She had imdifferent brown eyes and wore her protector over her lean right bicep. She wore green pants with a split at the ankles, and a white shirt with had one long sleeve one the right and no sleeve on the left. She wore green and white gloves and green tennis shoes. She looked back at Kyo and Ally, then back out at the forest.

"Don't worry," Ally said. "We don't kill. Mostly because that would mean meaningless effort. It's not a killing mission after all. We'd rather just get what we need, and get out before anything happens to us."

Within a flash, Inoue was sitting in the tree above them.

"Ally, you really talk – a lot. Luckily, we got what we needed." He said. Throwing the scroll down to her. "Let's go. The sooner we get there, the sooner we can leave and get ready for the matches."

"What about him?" Ally asked.

"Let him find his way back. This forest can do more damage than we can," Inoue vanished, along with Milly.

"Well, good luck, and survive," Ally smiled before vanishing away. Kyo sighed, looking up into the sky. Thankfully, his rope had uncoiled, and was somewhere in the forest. He knew that eventually, he'd run into Kento and Natsumi.

He hoped he would before anyone else did.


	2. Chapter 2

The forest didn't seem so bad…

At least according to Kazuki. Yama made her way through, raising her awareness with each step, and Ayumi stuck close behind, hoping an attack wouldn't come from her side. She wasn't mentally prepared, even after her inspired performance the week before.

Her mother, a jounin, told her all the possibilities of battle. She didn't spare many details either, which is what wasn't sitting so well with the tiny genin. Her mother Asuya, despite her tiny size, easily completed the tests necessary to progress within Konoha's ninja ranks. She possessed amazing chakra control over her body, and could transfer it anywhere to her body when she needed it. It wasn't a skill Ayumi was so adept at right now.

Kazuki's mother had zero interest in being a ninja, and instead worked at a ramen shop in Konoha. It was on the border of the city, closer to the western edge of Konoha. Kazuki's older sister Shimabuya, was actually close friends with Ito's oldest brother, Kenicho. But, for some reason, after graduating the exams she left. Kazuki could never figure why, and every time he asked his mother, she'd deliberately change the subject to his progress during the exams. Eventually, he decided that asking was futile, so he focused on training.

Yama was spoiled from the start, whether it was by her family, or her aunt. Her cousin, Kichiro Watanabe wasn't so catering. He would frequently mess with her, go on missions with her, then purposely leave her in the middle of danger, even steal her food. But, when push came to shove, he was there for her.

The trio came to a fork in the road, and Yama checked the map.

"Yep," she said. "Something's wrong. There's no fork on this map. Especially one that leads directly to the tower."

"The tower is a lot deeper isn't it?" Kazuki asked. Yama nodded.

"We should turn around and – "

"Yama, put that map away," Ayumi said, backing into her. "We've got a guest."

The trio was face to face with a towering figure. He had very dark skin with braids in his hair and broad shoulders on a muscular frame. His protector had the image of a flame on it. He wore a white tank top with black shorts and black shoes. On his biceps, he had black bands. Ayumi shuddered a bit.

"I've come for your scroll," he said, holding out his massive hand.

"What?" Kazuki said. "There's no way we're just giving it to you. You'll have to fight us, and there's no guarantee you'll win."

"I was hoping for a fight," he said, grinning. "Urato!"

Kazuki felt a sudden force on his back, but it was followed by a crash.

"… Urato …" the tall person said disappointedly. Arising from the ground was a short young man with green hair in a mohawk. He had green eyes amd wore a red shirt and black pants. He finished off the outfit with white shoes that had flames across the sides. His protector was on his forehead.

"Hey Kenji, it's not my fault he's so fat," the young man said, rubbing his head. The Konoha trio looked back and forth at the duo.

"Back to the point," Kenji said. "We fight. If you win, you get our scroll. If we win, we get your scroll."

"Deal." Yama stepped forward. "We'll at least be occupied and not have to worry about another team trying to take it."

"And just to make sure the sides are even," Kenji said. "Hanako!"

A flurry of flowers circled the area, and in the midst of them was a pale skinned girl about Yama's height. She had long black hair tied in a bun and carried an unmbrella. She wore a red kimono with a white sash and wooden sandals. She opened her blue eyes, and gave a faint smile. Her protector was around her neck.

"You rang?" she asked. Kenji nodded, pointing to the trio.

"We have a scroll to get," he replied.

- - -

The Ito's strode through the forest, confident that if they were to run into the Kaito-led genin, an easy victory would soon follow. If they could find them anyway. Usagi sighed loudly, moving her neck from left to right. Rokuro silently swung his sword around. Even the focused Goro began to become a bit restless.

"I know brother told us to go for the weakest team, but we need something to do before we get too bored," Goro said. Rokuro sat down, and Usagi leapt into a tree, looking around for other teams.

"See anyone?" Goro asked. She swung her legs, shaking her head.

"How about behind you?"

"Yeah, how about – wait! Usa – " Goro tried to warn his fellow genin.

Usagi fell to the ground limp, with a fresh wound in her shoulder. She barely moved, holding her head back, trying to focus on something other than the pain.

"Brother … LOOK OUT!" Goro dove, pushing Rokuro out of the way, and taking an arrow to the back. Standing atop the branches was a figure who stood five foot five with long brown hair and emerald eyes. They wore a red shirt with yellow pants and yellow shoes. Their protector had the image of a flame.

"Too slow. One more down and I can get the scroll."

The arrow was pulled back, aiming for the only other Ito's heart. Usagi rolled over, forming hands seals, nearly yelping as she moved her shoulder. Her flag began to wave in a hypnotizing matter. The person pulling back the arrow began to rock back and forth. Soon, the bow and arrow hung limp at the their side, and they fell out of the tree, face first. Rokuro lay his brother up, and took the arrow out of his back.

"Worse than I thought," he said, seeing that the arrow was actually metal. Usagi's shoulder had the arrow's result, and she struggled to right herself so she could sit up.

"Who is that?" she asked. Rokuro pushed the face down person, seeing the features. It was actually a guy. He had a wound in the middle of his forehead, and didn't make any sounds as Rokuro began to search him. With a satisfied smile, he lifted something out of the young man's pocket – the scroll.

"We have another scroll," he said, rolling the person back over.

"What do we do with him?" Usagi asked. Rokuro looked around for a moment, finally noticing some vines. He threw the scroll to Usagi, who caught it with her good arm and placed in her pocket. She lifted herself up and walked over to Goro, who was beginning to show sings of life. He stretched a bit before looking down the culprit.

"Good thing I decided to wear that armor huh?" he sat up, watching as Rokuro leapt down from the trees.

"Nice to see you back," he said, tying the brown haired young man up to a tree.

"The forest can take care of him," Goro said. "Usagi, how's the wound?"

"I can manage. I have some bandages," she said, lifting her pants leg, ripping some material of her leg, and transferring it to her shoulder. She moved it around, still flinching, but knew that it would take some time to really return to normal.

"Which scroll did we get?" Goro asked.

"Hell, the same as we started out with," Usagi said. "Well, we at least have a bargaining chip."

"Yeah, we can hide out for a while until we get a team with the Heaven scroll," Goro said.

As Goro placed his hand down, he felt something on the ground. For some reason, it felt … familiar. A faint glow came from a string on the ground. Goro smiled, knowing exactly who it was.

- - -

Hideki and Gonnoh had trouble keeping up with their partner, Riyoka, who obviously was onto something. Hideki activated his Byakugan, trying to looked ahead to see what she saw.

"Only two people, obviously lost. Pefect targets," he said. Gonnoh laughed, rubbing his hands.

"Hey you two! Let's use the Jaws technique!"

"Got it," Gonnoh said, giving her the thumbs up. He and Hideki split into different directions, with Riyoka going straight ahead.

- - -

"Saburo, Nobu hasn't returned yet. Think we should go out for him?" the pink-clad girl asked. She wore a pink short dress with pink pants and pink shoes. Her protector was on her forehead. She had white hair and grey eyes. On her arms were metal protectors, and her legs as well. She stood five feet two inches.

"I'm … not sure Momoko. He's always shown himself to be fairly reliable, but this is a much different situation," Saburo replied. He was a sturdily built young man with black hair and black eyes. His face always had a scowl, and he always carried his sword around. He was apart of Hidaeki clan, a clan which specialized in the protection of nobility. He stood five foot nine, but his crouched style of walking made him seem shorter.

"I'm pretty sure we should go for him. I have a feeling we're being watched," Saburo said. Momoko looked to her left, seeing a white-eyed boy making his way toward the duo.

"We may have to fight after all," Momoko said, getting into her fighting stance. "They're closing in fast."

"Three?" Saburo said, standing at full height, raising his sword.

Riyoka threw in two smoke bombs, while Gonnoh and Hideki closed in like an animal jaws on the duo. Momoko smiled.

"Good, the girl just gave us a way out. No way they can see us now." Momoko said. She and Saburo both crouched, running out of the smoke clouds – only to be met by Hideki.

"You really can't escape my Byakugan," he said. Saburo quickly gathered his chakra into his feet, leaping over his head. Momoko kept running, passing Hideki with a deft slide under the Hyuuga. Hideki simply stopped, not moving to give chase. Gonnoh and Riyoka, whose attempts were fruitless, began to run, but Hideki put his hand up.

"It's useless running after them," he said. "They didn't have the scroll with them. Even if we defeated them, it would be a waste of energy."

"Darn," Riyako stomped. "I was kind of looking for a fight."

"Kimiko said to form the Tri-formation if we are to travel farther into the forest," Riyoka said. "Who takes the point?"

Hideki walked forwad, not caring to look back.

"I guess that's our answer," Gonnoh said, flanking Hideki's right. Riyoka smiled, liking the initiative Hideki took. It didn't hurt that his Byakugan gave them a major advantage in terms getting the jump on groups.

The path they began to walk began to bend off to Riyoka's side. Riyoka was the newest genin, in place of Shizuna. She was five six with an athletic frame. She wore pink compression shorts with a black dress. She had black knee high socks with pink shoes. Her leaf protector was on her arm, almost like she was carrying it. The trio loosely stuck to the winding path, and Riyoka stayed off to Hideki's left, leaping across the tree branches. She suddenly stopped, stifling a scream.

The scene wasn't pretty.


	3. Chapter 3

With his arms crossed, watching the different screens, Ryota Kenta began to mumble to himself, a trait he carried from his mother. His green eyes scanned from side to side until he saw a gruesome sight.

"What the …" he bolted out of his seat, alerting his companion in the room. She had silver hair and grey eyes, and was now staring at the same sight. Three people, unconscious, laying in awkward positions, with the foot of the figure leaving the screen.

"Holy – " she started, but realized there was nothing she could do. Outside interference was prohibited, even if were justifiable. She sat back down and turned away from the screen.

It wasn't called the Forest of Death for nothing.

- - -

"I didn't know a person's body could contort like that," Gonnoh commented as they arrived at the bodies. He knelt down close to one. She had flower petals around her, and her arm was nearly out of her socket. She looked as if she'd bled as much as she could.

"Hideki, do these people look kind of familiar?" Gonnoh asked. Hideki gulped hard, but couldn't look away. They looked familiar.

"Yeah," Hideki said. "Kazuki, Yama, Ayumi …"

"What did this?" Ryoka asked.

"Not sure," the Hyuuga answered, looking ahead. "But, we gotta move. As bad as this is, if we don't move, we may end up worse."

Riyoka, a very emotional girl, fought back tears as she stepped over the crumpled bodies. Before she turned her head, she looked down by one of the girl's hand. It was …

"The scroll?" she blurted out. Hideki and Gonnoh both turned and walked to where Riyoka was.

"There it is," Gonnoh said. "If we take it now, we can just go straight to the tower."

Hideki knelt down, beginning to think.

"I just don't think we should," he said hesitantly. Nothing inside of him really wanted to reach out and take the scroll. He stood and walked away, deeper into the forest. Before either of his teammates could speak, he spoke up.

"Out of respect," he said, fully expecting both Riyoka and Gonnoh to leave the maimed trio be.

- - -

"Gggrhhh…" the powerfully built young man knelt, using his arm to support himself. The fat one, he thought, had impressive strength.

"Kenji … stop trying to go on your own," Hanako strode over to the massive person. He coughed up blood, and Hanako began to wipe it off, but Kenji forced himself away, this time falling to his face.

"Kenji …" Urato, limped over to the muscular genin. "Quit being stubborn. Just get the healing so we can get to the tower."

"N-N-N …" he began to stammer. "No. I want to make it on my own. I CAN make it on my own."

Urato, feeling tired from the fight that ensued, began to have blurred vision. The effects of the fight were taking over rapidly, and his body shut down. Hanako, feeling faint, formed hand seals, then touched the ground. Slowly, vines began to surround the three of them, until they were hidden.

"At least, we'll be alive," she whispered, closing her eyes.

- - -

Night fell on the Forest, and Taiki's genin began to feel sleepy. Michiya quickly gave in to the feling, and Shun sat up, but began to nod off. Takumi, realizing the situation they were in, went into action – then went to sleep as well.

- - -

Kasumi kept watch as Ichiro and Minako slept. Luckily, she had a Kiba in the group, and she'd swallowed a Soldier Pill. It wasn't the chakra increase that she needed, but the alertness. Tomorrow she deduced that that would be the perfect time to strike. By this time, some teams would've already taken themselves out because of foolheardy decisions or overplanning. She sat down in front of her teammates, going through possible strategies until the sun came up.

- - -

"Doesn't look good. I'm thirsty, but there seems to be another team using the water," Goro said, kneeling low, peeking through foliage. Usagi lay back, and Rokuro fell back, exhausted. They trekked to find the water. They found it, but using it looked like a fight.

"Tommorow," Rokuro said. Both his companions nodded, and they rested.

- - -

"One day down," Asuka said to herself, watching the two children sleep. It was almost if they were back at home, and not in the middle of a life or death situation. Takeh's relaxed look, Sarai's drooling. Silently, Asuka smiled, and sat up. She was used to staying up all night. She trained with her idol, Wara Sutari at night to increase her awareness. But, it wasn't too hard to stay up in a place like this.

- - -

Kento and Natsumi kept their pace as they walked deeper into the forest. Their training from Yoshi gave them the advantage in endurance. Now only if it affected their searching ability.

"I wish Kyo would send out his rope again," Kento said. Natsumi scanned the area, seeing nothing out of the ordinary. She frowned, hoping that Kyo would somehow pop up, and they could begin – again on their search for some scrolls.

"Kento," Natsumi said. "Eventually, we'll have to recharge our batteries. We'll have to rest for a second. Kento gave her a stubborn glance, but gave in.

"Yeah, you're right

- - -

"Is that how you really feel Kaito?" Miharu asked, as the duo sat outside the coffee shop.

"I am very impressed by their progression. If a team were to approach them, thinking victory is immenent because of their appearance, then they are in for a rude awakening," he replied.

"I like my team," Miharu said, spinning her spoon around. She looked off, thinking to herself.

"Something the matter?" he asked. She looked back at him, and felt a dark feeling begin to rise in her. She gasped for a moment and stood. She felt it, Yama, Kazuki, Ayumi. With all the strength she could muster, she sat back down. Rules were rules.

"No," she stated.

- - -


End file.
